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Why grow mint indoors Mint (Mentha species) is a perennial that produces new foliage all year long if the stems are not killed by frost, making it one of the easiest herbs to grow inside. There are hundreds of different species, hybrids, and cultivars of mint. Some are more common than others when it comes to their flavor and popularity. Unlike many other herbs, mint is very easy to grow indoors, as long as you give the plant enough light and consistent moisture (more on both of these in a later section)....

The below information is featured on Savvy Gardening thanks to the sponsorship of Gardener’s Supply Company. Gardener’s Supply Company is an employee-owned company that designs and builds many types of tomato plant supports as well as other innovative garden products. 7 Reasons to use a tomato plant support There are numerous benefits to staking tomato plants, but the bottom line is that getting them off the ground is the best way to promote plant health....

Raised beds can be any size, but for a standard, rectangular bed, I recommend about three to four feet wide by six to eight feet long and 10 to 12 inches high. Those dimensions allow a gardener to reach in to plant, sow, and weed, without having to walk through it. This leads to another benefit of raised garden beds in comparison to gardening in-ground in traditional rows. The soil in a raised bed will remain loose and friable, rather than being hard-packed over time by footsteps....

Why are my cucumbers yellow There are many reasons for cucumbers turning yellow. The issue may be weather-related, a sign of a pest or disease, or perhaps it’s a yellow cucumber variety. Below are 8 reasons that may explain your yellow cucumber fruits. 1) The fruits are over mature The best quality cucumbers are those that are harvested when slightly immature. At that point the fruits will be crisp, mild-flavored, and top quality....

What is a weeping blue atlas cedar? First, I’d like to tell you about the “parent” tree of this beautiful weeping variety. Known simply as the atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica), it is upright and pyramidal in its growth habit. The ancient Egyptians used oils from this tree in the embalming process and for incense and cosmetics. While we don’t use this tree for such purposes nowadays, it is still an interesting addition to the landscape....

What is a cabbage worm? Technically called the imported cabbage worm, this pest is a native of Europe. It’s now found across much of North America, and their quick life cycle means they produce several generations per year. Adult cabbage worm butterflies (they are not moths) are also known as cabbage whites or small whites. They are a common summertime sight in yards and gardens, my own included. The white butterflies have a wing-span of about one to one-and-a-half inches....

You see, that’s how we gardeners used to roll in the early ’90s, before we knew better. Before we knew all the reasons NOT to clean up the garden. We’d cut everything down and perform a big, end-of-the-season gardening clean up until there was no shred of nature left behind. We’d turn the place into a tidied, controlled, and only slightly dirtier version of our living room. Everything was tucked and trimmed and in its place....

Once the November temperatures start to nose-dive, we deep mulch the carrot beds before the ground freezes. By pre-gathering the materials – I keep bags of shredded autumn leaves beside my compost bin – winterizing our carrot beds takes just 5 quick minutes. Related post: Corn salad is a great winter green 3 steps to winter carrots: 1 – Gather your materials. You’ll need shredded leaves or straw, a row cover or bed sheet, and a few rocks for weighing down the cover....

One of the reasons I love daffodils is the squirrels don’t go near them. I live on a ravine and there is a regular squirrel party in my front and back gardens. Tulip bulbs are tasty snacks to discover, and the flowers are appealing to the neighborhood bunnies and deer. But plants in the Narcissus family are toxic to all animals, so are left unbothered. Shopping for daffodils Autumn is when to plant daffodil bulbs....

At one time or another every tomato gardener has asked how to make tomato plants grow faster. Maybe they’re impatient for the harvest or worried whether their fruits have time to ripen before frost. Whatever your reasons for trying to speed up the growth of tomato plants, below you’ll find 14 steps to help you grow a bountiful – and early – harvest. 1) Plant tomato seedlings in the right spot Quick growing tomato plants start with the right growing conditions....

Meet the jewel orchid There is so much to love about this plant. Treasured for its velvety foliage that ranges from bronze to black in color with white to maroon-colored veins, jewel orchids have a very unique appearance. The colorful leaves are soft and suede-like to the touch and are not nearly as large as some other types of orchids. The genus Ludisia contains just one species, and the jewel orchid is it (Ludisia discolor)....

How does asparagus grow? It’s important that asparagus plants (Asparagus officinalis) are planted and cared for in a particular way for the first few years of their life so they can build up enough energy to begin to produce thick, delicious, edible spears. Asparagus grows from underground crowns with plump white roots. Only the crown and root system survive the winter; everything above the ground does not. The plants are winter hardy (down to about -40°F), and they perform well in all but the warmest growing zones....

Tara says: I can attribute my love of incorporating nature finds into my decorating to my mom. Growing up, it wasn’t unusual for seashells, driftwood and dried flowers to be artfully displayed among the more typical decorative items, like vases and other knick knacks. I myself love to gather natural things I find in my path, like acorns and stones and sticks. I find it kind of painful to pay big bucks at the nursery for sticks and branches that I can find in the yard....

One of the benefits of raised garden beds, if you’re building them yourself, is they can be absolutely any size. Whether you have a big backyard or a small patio, raised beds can be customized to fit the space. And they can help you overcome challenging conditions. The height measurement of your raised garden bed, which determines the depth, is an important one. There are a couple of main issues to consider: the surface under which you’re going to place your raised bed and accessibility....

This post is an excerpt from Niki Jabbour’s Veggie Garden Remix © Niki Jabbour. Used with permission from Storey Publishing. Our family loves trying different kinds of cucumbers. Each summer, our cucumber beds are planted with at least a dozen species and varieties, but few look like “traditional” cucumbers. As you walk the pathways between the beds, you might notice the slender twisted fruits of ‘Painted Serpent’ hiding beneath a mound of foliage, or the weird kiwi-shaped fruits of ‘Little Potato’ climbing an A-frame trellis....

In my new book, Gardening Your Front Yard: Projects and Ideas for Big & Small Spaces, I explore a variety of ideas (including some DIY projects), from flowers and foliage that attract pollinators, to sneaking edibles into perennial gardens, or giving over a bigger area of your front yard to vegetable gardening. I explore a number of eco-friendly options, like alternatives to traditional turf grass that are more sustainable, and capturing rain water from excessive storms....

The fish pepper is an African-American heirloom variety that dates to the 1800’s. The leaves of the plant are very unique and range from fully white to part green and white to fully green. Plus, much of the foliage has eye-catching cream colored speckles scattered across the leaf surfaces. Of course, we grow peppers for their fruits and this variety produces an abundance of bi-colored peppers that grow two to three-inches long....

There were, however, a few speed bumps along the way. The biggest issue was sourcing my chosen material. I could have gone with pre-made garden arches, but I was looking for something more rustic. My initial plan was to form the tunnels from 16 foot long by 4 foot wide cattle panels, which could be bent over the spaces between my raised beds to make an arch. They provide a strong support for climbing vegetables like beans and cucumbers, but they are also much cheaper than more elaborate trellises and arbors… or so I thought....

Flower bulbs essentially already have all the energy and nutrients they need to sprout, bloom, and flourish. But you do want to make sure you provide optimal growing conditions for that bulb to start growing in the first place—loose, well-draining soil is a must. Bulbs prefer a neutral soil pH. A soil test will reveal the pH if you have concerns. You also want to make sure those bulbs do not sit in wet soil or they will rot....

I see numerous types of swallowtail butterflies fluttering about my property, landing on various annuals and perennials. They are among the largest and most common butterflies we see in our gardens—there are about 550 swallowtail species in the world! The black swallowtail (often referred to as the Eastern black swallowtail) can be found throughout much of North America. The tails on the hind wings of a swallowtail butterfly look like that of a barn swallow, which is how they got their common name....